#39
Hyun-oh was undoubtedly chatting with others at the party, not even noticing that Eunsol had disappeared. Since Ye-ryeong hadn’t seemed to arrive at the party yet, Eunsol could finally be alone in the lounge.
When Eunsol finally entered the luxurious lounge area under Song Do-ye’s guidance, his legs eventually gave out and he collapsed.
“Mr. Eunsol!”
Song Do-ye, who always spoke to Eunsol in a calm voice, grabbed his arm in surprise. Eunsol waved his hand to indicate he was fine, but to Song Do-ye’s eyes, he just looked unsteady.
“Could you… bring me some pheromone neutralizer?”
He couldn’t stay in here forever. Eunsol wanted to quickly wash away the omega pheromones that were so stubbornly clinging to him.
Though spraying pheromone neutralizer wouldn’t make them completely disappear, it could at least somewhat alleviate the suffocating sensation he was currently feeling.
“Yes. I’ll be right back.”
Song Do-ye scanned the lounge area but couldn’t see any pheromone neutralizer. Usually, such spaces would have at least one on hand.
She was hesitant to leave Eunsol alone. Unfortunately, today being an event day, even the bodyguard Hyun-oh had assigned to Eunsol was on leave. But she couldn’t leave Eunsol in this pale, weakened state either.
As a beta, Song Do-ye couldn’t fully understand the terrible sensations Eunsol was experiencing. But just seeing how Eunsol had collapsed the moment they entered the lounge, she could feel how difficult it was for him. She determined that the best thing for Eunsol would be to quickly find a pheromone neutralizer in the shortest possible time.
“Haah…”
Eunsol watched the door through which Song Do-ye had left, then barely managed to get up and move to the sofa. Though the space was neatly arranged, there were wrinkles all over his suit from the impact of kneeling and collapsing on the floor.
His face reflected in the mirror on the table looked equally terrible. His carefully styled hair was disheveled and strands were flowing down over his forehead, and from suppressing the urge to retch, a reddish heat had gathered around his eyes.
The breath escaping between his lips was hot. Eunsol raised his hand to wipe away the beads of sweat forming on his forehead, then blankly stared at his palm where a stinging pain radiated.
It was a wound that had occurred when he confronted the man who had been pouring pheromones on him earlier. The faint crescent-shaped scar, with barely visible traces of blood, vaguely revealed how desperate Eunsol had been at the time.
“You’ll make the ground cave in like that.”
Eunsol’s eyes widened.
He had been alone, momentarily soothing his weary heart. Though he hadn’t been at the party for long, both his body and mind were exhausted. He wondered if he had buttoned things wrong from the very first person he greeted.
Eunsol stood up with an unsteady body as he sensed the familiar pheromones coming increasingly closer. It was a terribly acrid pheromone.
“Hngg…”
But immediately, his thin body was practically buried into the sofa by a force pushing down on his shoulders. Song Do-ye had clearly said this space was exclusively for Eunsol, Hyun-oh, and Ye-ryeong. It was a mistake to have let his guard down.
At the very least, he should have properly checked the space when Song Do-ye was with him.
“We didn’t get to properly greet each other last time. Today, we’ll have some time to talk together, won’t we? To shake off the pheromones that are clinging to your body.”
It was as if he knew what had happened to Eunsol. Of course, strong omega pheromones that weren’t Eunsol’s own could be sensed from him now, but there was something strange about Han Hyunyong’s tone.
Eunsol twisted his shoulder that was gripped by the man. But soon, pain that felt like it would crush his shoulder blade returned.
His reflection in the eyes looking at him up close appeared more powerless than a small animal caught in a trap. His head spun from the strong cologne scent the man was wearing.
“I’d like to properly smell your pheromone scent…”
The man released his pheromones while stroking Eunsol’s cheek with the back of his hand. Eunsol’s eyelids trembled without closing due to the alpha pheromones flowing out, making the spacious reception room feel stifling.
When he had smelled omega pheromones, his body had ached as if he had acute indigestion, but the alpha’s pheromones forcibly awakened Eunsol’s senses.
The sensation that heavily resonated in his lower abdomen traveled up his spine and stirred his mind into a confused state. The amount of pheromones being poured on him today was at least twice as dense as what had been showered on Eunsol the first time they met.
As if there was nothing to be concerned about since only the two of them were in this space.
Han Hyunyong examined Eunsol with chilling eyes, as if licking him, as his face reddened in response to the pheromones. The lingering sensation on the back of his hand was soft enough to make him want to caress the skin hidden beneath Eunsol’s clothes.
“Please… take your hands off…”
Despite his desperate plea, Han Hyunyong did not remove his hands from Eunsol’s body. Instead, he cupped Eunsol’s cheek with one hand and even firmly rubbed his thumb across Eunsol’s lips, which were reddened from the heat.
His large eyes became stained with moisture. Contact with anyone other than Hyun-oh only gave Eunsol fear and discomfort. Yet his body, independent of its owner’s will, heated up even more just from that recent touch.
‘Although omega rights have improved a lot compared to before, there are still many alphas who look down on omegas. Especially in this world. Moreover, we are fundamentally weaker than alphas. When attacked by pheromones, even what little strength we had seems to disappear completely.’
It was no coincidence that what Ryu Jeong-woo had said while stroking Eunsol’s hair came to mind now. Eunsol moved his trembling hand to touch his tie pin. Click, a small sound rang out as two thin lines that had been firmly meshed together slipped out of alignment.
“…What the?”
Soon after, Han Hyunyong removed his hands from Eunsol and staggered backward. Fine gas, barely visible to the naked eye, flowed out from Eunsol’s tie pin.
With dizziness momentarily sweeping through his vision, Han Hyunyong lost his balance and fell backward as his legs caught on the table. The items on the table scattered across the floor with a loud noise.
“How dare you…”
Han Hyunyong’s voice trembled with anger. It was clear that Eunsol had done something to him. Otherwise, there would be no reason for such terrible dizziness and for his pheromones to fluctuate wildly.
The pheromones he had been releasing to fill the space and stimulate Eunsol suddenly solidified. Like a large rock thrown into the middle of a flowing stream.
Han Hyunyong’s whites of his eyes turned bright red as he felt his pheromone glands solidifying. He frantically searched inside his jacket with urgent hands, as if looking for something.
“Hnngh, huh, ugh…”
Though Han Hyunyong had moved away, Eunsol’s condition worsened. It felt as if tiny insects were crawling over the skin where the man’s touch had been.
Despite the terrible feeling, a strange sensation washed over him like a tidal wave. The one fortunate thing was that the influence of the dominant omega pheromones that had been tormenting Eunsol was diminishing.
But Eunsol thought it would be better to suffer from nausea that made him feel like vomiting right away. This was the second time his body had an abnormal reaction to Han Hyunyong’s pheromones.
The first time had been terrible, but the second time was beyond terrible—it was miserable.
Eunsol raised his trembling hand and rubbed the cheek that Han Hyunyong’s hand had touched until the back of his hand turned red, and scratched his neck with his short nails.
If he didn’t do that, he felt like his body would helplessly collapse, unknowingly submitting to the man’s pheromones.
“That bastard Han Hyun-oh, it wasn’t for nothing that he took you as his spouse…”
Through his dizzy mind, Han Hyunyong recalled that Eunsol had touched his tie pin before these strange symptoms appeared.
He thought it must be one of those self-defense items that pathetic omegas carried around. Though it was his first time experiencing it directly.
The dizziness alone would have been bearable, but the inability to control his pheromones at will was maddening. Having his pheromones, which he always used like limbs, bound felt like one of his limbs was paralyzed.
He had thought he was just placing a doll-like object with no backing as a spouse. The image of Eunsol trembling without even proper resistance during their first meeting had remained strongly in his mind.
But to think he could do something like this. He was more rebellious than expected.
“Haah…”
Han Hyunyong roughly swept back his hair as he tried to steady his wavering vision. The plan had been to touch the powerless Eunsol and leave a stain on him, as directly confronting Hyun-oh carried too much risk.
Partly to gauge how much Hyun-oh cared about Eunsol.
Just imagining how distorted Hyun-oh’s expression would be when he sensed his own pheromones deeply permeating Eunsol’s body made his heart race.
When he was very young, Hyun-oh would often show tears when bullied, but at some point, his expressions disappeared completely. With an expressionless face, he showed no emotional fluctuation no matter what Han Hyunyong did to him.
But that didn’t mean the guy was just enduring it.
By whatever means, no matter how long it took, he always paid back double what Han Hyunyong had done to him.
Recently, New Future Daily had been continuously publishing articles about a certain group’s personnel identified only by initials. Being all sensational, they attracted public attention.
With the puzzle pieces still few, not many had noticed that the person appearing in the articles was himself. But it was only a matter of time. The things he had done in the past were coming back like a boomerang.
There was only one person who would pull such a stunt. The articles had been released from the day he met Eunsol under the guise of coincidence. Just by touching Eunsol, he had moved as if he’d been blindsided.
Because of this, Han Hyunyong realized that Eunsol had become Hyun-oh’s weakness.
After Chairman Han’s death, checks on Hyun-oh had become more earnest. The principle of primogeniture succession was nothing but an illusion that didn’t apply to the TH Group, regardless of other groups.
Others in positions similar to his didn’t need to make much effort because their fathers would feed them with a spoon right up to their mouths. But the old man had pushed him to the edge of the cliff and then passed away.
Han Hyunyong’s hand made a cracking sound as he clenched his fist. As if he wanted to strangle his father if he were standing before him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
